Austria
Austrians are a homogeneous people; about 90% speak
German as everyday language. However, there has been a
significant amount of immigrants, particularly from
former Yugoslavia and Turkey, over the last two decades.
Only two numerically significant autochthonous minority
groups exist--18,000 Slovenes in Carinthia (south
central Austria) and about 19,400 Croats in Burgenland
(on the Hungarian border). The Slovenes form a
closely-knit community. Their rights as well as those of
the Croats are protected by law and generally respected
in practice. Some Austrians, particularly near Vienna,
still have relatives in the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
and Hungary. About 74% of all Austrians are Roman
Catholic. The church abstains from political activity.
Small Lutheran minorities are located mainly in Vienna,
Carinthia, and Burgenland. There are some Islamic
communities, concentrated in Vienna and Vorarlberg. |
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Austrian history as such dates back to 976, when Leopold
von Babenberg became the ruler of much of present-day
Austria. In 1276 Rudolf I became the first Habsburg to
ascend to the throne.
The Habsburg Empire
Although never unchallenged, the Habsburgs ruled Austria
for nearly 750 years. Through political marriages, the
Habsburgs were able to accumulate vast land wealth
encompassing most of Central Europe and stretching even
as far as the Iberian Peninsula. After repulsing
challenges from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th
centuries, Austrian territory became increasingly
consolidated in the central European part of the Danube
basin.
In 1848 Franz Josef I ascended to the throne and
remained in power until his death in 1916. Franz Josef
saw many milestones in Austrian history. The Compromise
of 1867 gave greater political rights to Hungary within
the Empire, creating what became known as the Dual
Monarchy. Political unity deteriorated further in the
beginning of the 20th century, culminating, under the
stress of World War I, in the collapse of the Empire and
proclamation of an Austrian Republic on territory
roughly identical to modern day Austria. In 1919, the
Treaty of St. Germain officially ended Habsburg rule and
established the Republic of Austria.
Political Turmoil During the Inter-War Years Leads to
Anschluss
From 1918 to 1934, Austria experienced sharpening
political strife. In the late 1920s and early 1930s,
paramilitary political organizations were engaged in
strikes and violent conflicts. Unemployment rose to an
estimated 25%. In 1934, a corporatist and authoritarian
government came into power in Austria. Austrian National
Socialists (NS) launched an unsuccessful coup d'etat in
July 1934. Though the government sought to preserve
Austrian independence, in February 1938, under renewed
threats of military intervention from Germany,
Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg was forced to accept
Austrian National Socialists (Nazis) in his government.
On March 12, Germany sent its military forces into
Austria and annexed the country ("Anschluss"), an action
that received enthusiastic support among most Austrians.
The Holocaust in Austria
From March 1938 to April 1945, most of the Jewish
population of the country was murdered or forced into
exile. Other minorities, including the Sinti and Roma,
homosexuals, and many political opponents of the Nazis
also received similar treatment. Prior to 1938,
Austria's Jewish population constituted 200,000 persons,
or about 3% to 4% of the total population. Most Jews
lived in Vienna, where they comprised about 9% of the
population. Following Anschluss, the Germans rapidly
applied their anti-Jewish laws in Austria. Jews were
forced out of many professions and lost access to their
assets. In November 1938, the Nazis launched the
Kristallnacht pogrom in Austria as well as in Germany.
Jewish businesses were vandalized and ransacked.
Thousands of Jews were arrested and deported to
concentration camps. Jewish emigration increased
dramatically. Between 1938 and 1940, over half of
Austria's Jewish population fled the country. Some
35,000 Jews were deported to the Ghettos in Eastern
Europe. Some 67,000 Austrian Jews (or one-third of the
total 200,000 Jews residing in Austria) were sent to
concentration camps. Those in such camps were murdered
or forced into dangerous or severe hard labor that
accelerated their death. Only 2,000 of those in the
death camps survived until the end of the war.
Austria Post-World War II
After liberation in April 1945, the victorious allies
divided Austria into zones of occupation similar to
those in Germany with a four-power administration of
Vienna. Under the 1945 Potsdam agreements, the Soviets
took control of German assets in their zone of
occupation. These included 7% of Austria's manufacturing
plants, 95% of its oil resources, and about 80% of its
refinery capacity. The properties were returned to
Austria under the Austrian State Treaty. This treaty,
signed in Vienna on May 15, 1955, came into effect on
July 27, and, under its provisions, all occupation
forces departed by October 25, 1955. Austria became free
and independent for the first time since 1938.
Austrian Compensation Programs and Acknowledgement of
its Nazi Role
During the immediate postwar period, Austrian
authorities introduced certain restitution and
compensation measures for Nazi victims, but many of
these initial measures were later seen as inadequate and
containing flaws and injustices. There is no official
estimate of the amount of compensation made under these
programs. More disturbing for many was the continuation
of the view that prevailed since 1943 that Austria was
the "first free country to fall a victim" to Nazi
aggression. This "first victim" view was in fact
fostered by the Allied Powers themselves in the Moscow
Declaration of 1943, in which the Allies declared as
null and void the Anschluss and called for the
restoration of the country's independence. The Allied
Powers did not ignore Austria's responsibility for the
war, but nothing was said explicitly about Austria's
responsibility for Nazi crimes on its territory. With
the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, greater
attention was given in many countries to unresolved
issues from World War II, including Austria. On November
15, 1994, Austrian President Thomas Klestil addressed
the Israeli Knesset, noting that Austrian leaders "...
spoke far too rarely of the fact that some of the worst
henchmen of the NS dictatorship were in fact Austrians.
.... In the name of the Republic of Austria, I bow my
head before the victims of that time." Since 1994,
Austria has committed to providing victims and heirs
some $1 billion in total compensation. |
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